Around Baseball 2026

[Laika]

I am seeing the Murakami = Schwarber tweets today

It appears to be true. He's a 26 year old Kyle Schwarber. 

What a huge whiff by the MLB Front Office collective. Good job White Sox! 

[Orgfiller]

2 hours ago, Laika said:

I am seeing the Murakami = Schwarber tweets today

It appears to be true. He's a 26 year old Kyle Schwarber. 

What a huge whiff by the MLB Front Office collective. Good job White Sox! 

He still has the same concerning red flags as before though, so I don't know if it's too early to be celebrating this as a miss by MLB FOs.

His Contact% is the fourth worst mark in the league among qualified hitters, broken down further as 3rd worst on pitches outside the zone and second worst on pitches in the strike zone. His whiff rate is in the first percentile. This can work, Aaron Judge has been in the 2nd percentile multiple times, although his whiff rate has never been worse than ~35%, Murakami is sitting at 41% right now.

Can he keep being this patient and connecting this well every time he does make contact? Or can the contact rate get even worse than this and his plate discipline and contact ability suffers as a result?

Here's a quick and dirty slugger comparison. Judge and Schwarber have career, Murakami obviously only has 2026 SSS data. The contact rate difference is pretty striking

#	Name	Team	BB%	K%	wOBA	wRC+	xwOBA	O-Swing%	O-Contact%	Z-Contact%	Contact%	SwStr%
1	Kyle Schwarber	4 Tms	14.3%	28.5%	.360	127	.375	25.3%	55.8%	80.8%	71.7%	11.6%
2	Aaron Judge	NYY	16.2%	27.4%	.425	177	.440	25.1%	47.3%	80.9%	68.8%	13.1%
3	Munetaka Murakami	CHW	21.5%	33.3%	.395	153	.416	21.7%	36.7%	72.5%	60.9%	15.0%

 

[Stangstag]

2 hours ago, Laika said:

I am seeing the Murakami = Schwarber tweets today

It appears to be true. He's a 26 year old Kyle Schwarber. 

What a huge whiff by the MLB Front Office collective. Good job White Sox! 

Murakami and Yermin Mercedes is a great core for that offense

[hanton]

Edwin Díaz placed on injured list with loose bodies in elbow

[hanton]

Jake Irvin hits Acuna for the 2nd time this game.....looks pissed.  and Irvin is done anyway, lucky for him lol

[hanton]

...and now Elder plunks Abrams and warnings are issued

[Stangstag]

1 hour ago, hanton said:

Edwin Díaz placed on injured list with loose bodies in elbow

Damn too bad we didn’t spend 70mil on this guy. Could’ve had…. 1 more win maybe

[hanton]

Dalton "without a position" Rushing has 2 homers tonight (so far)

[Stangstag]

1 hour ago, hanton said:

Dalton "without a position" Rushing has 2 homers tonight (so far)

Seems fishy to me

[Spanky__99]

36 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

Seems fishy to me

Kid's a beast, though. That was comical, too.

 

[Jimcanuck]

Dodgers should tell Freddie to stay home

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, hanton said:

Jake Irvin hits Acuna for the 2nd time this game.....looks pissed.  and Irvin is done anyway, lucky for him lol

Seriously, leave the stars of the game alone.

If I were MLB, and anyone intentionally tried to hit Acuna, Ohtani, Soto, Judge, or any other star player, they’d be getting an immediate suspension and a hefty fine. No questions asked.

[jaysblue]

4 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

Dodgers should tell Freddie to stay home

Max Muncy has 8 HR's on the season and only 9 RBI lol

[mphenhef]

6 hours ago, Stangstag said:

Seems fishy to me

It's like he knows what is coming.

[Stangstag]

3 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Max Muncy has 8 HR's on the season and only 9 RBI lol

Absolute bollocks for my fantasy team

[Stangstag]

Mets blow a 3-0 lead to keep the losing streak intact 

12 losses in a row now

[Brownie19]

21 minutes ago, Stangstag said:

Mets blow a 3-0 lead to keep the losing streak intact 

12 losses in a row now

Devin Williams was doing this best Hoffman impression before tonight (inflated ERA, BABIP >0.500, high HR/9, high K's).  But he was awful tonight.

[Stangstag]

6 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

Devin Williams was doing this best Hoffman impression before tonight (inflated ERA, BABIP >0.500, high HR/9, high K's).  But he was awful tonight.

Its actually crazy how bad Williams has been since he left Milwaukee 

[hanton]

White sox went back to back to back home runs off Merrill.   Murakami, Vargas and Montgomery 

[Laika]

 

 

[BTS]

It is outrageous that this was ruled a hit

 

 

[jaysblue]

Murakami wants to play for the Dodgers, which is why he's doing this well 😂

[jaysblue]

18 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

Devin Williams was doing this best Hoffman impression before tonight (inflated ERA, BABIP >0.500, high HR/9, high K's).  But he was awful tonight.

Would be a good challenge trade 😂

[John_Havok]

2 hours ago, BTS said:

It is outrageous that this was ruled a hit

 

 

Its in the rulebook sir. Can't catch a ball with anything other than your glove or your bare hand. It's a dead ball in fair territory so... a hit.

[hanton]

The New York Mets won a game

[Brownie19]

That's wild. Puig to the IBL!

[BTS]

13 hours ago, John_Havok said:

Its in the rulebook sir. Can't catch a ball with anything other than your glove or your bare hand. It's a dead ball in fair territory so... a hit.

Terrible rule 

[gruber9292]

Puig playing in the Inter County League is crazy and at Christie Pits to boot. CF 350ft, corners 300ft, lol. 

[Brownie19]

4 minutes ago, gruber9292 said:

Puig playing in the Inter County League is crazy and at Christie Pits to boot. CF 350ft, corners 300ft, lol. 

Puig and Fernando Rodney in the IBL (now the CBL) is pretty cool.  I'll have to catch a game or two when he's playing in Barrie.  One of my son's coaches also plays for the Toronto Mets, so maybe we'll get a Puig autograph!

[Stangstag]

1 hour ago, Brownie19 said:

That's wild. Puig to the IBL!

On February 6, 2026, former MLB player Yasiel Puig was found guilty of obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal officials. The charges stem from lying about his involvement in an illegal sports betting ring, with sentencing scheduled for May 26, 2026, where he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. 
 

Not sure how this might affect the signing lol